Page 125 of The Defiant Wife

His eyebrow lifts.

"You finish every last spoonful of this soup."

He smiles, looking far too pleased with himself. "That's a concession I'm more than happy to accept.”

51. SCENTED CROWN

VEERAJ

Children are laughing, someone is running across the courtyard, and the scent of marigolds and damp earth fills the warm afternoon air. Sunlight filters through the old neem trees while four little troublemakers crowd around the table where I'm sitting.

I'm perched on a tiny wooden stool that is clearly not built for a man my size. My knees are bent awkwardly, my trousers are covered in dust, and somehow . . . I don't care.

Two weeks have passed since the accident.The bandage on my temple is gone now, leaving behind a faint silver scar.

A reminder of the day everything in my life changed.

There was a time when my world revolved around meetings, schedules, and rules. Everything had to be neat. Predictable.

Now I'm sitting in the middle of an NGO courtyard trying to string flowers together because it'll make my wife smile.

Strangely . . . this feels like the most important thing I've done all week."No, Prince uncle," Rani sighs dramatically beforesmacking my hand away from the marigold thread. "You're doing the knot wrong. Again."

She picks up the cotton thread and quickly demonstrates the loop with practiced fingers."You might run the whole state," she says very seriously, "but your fingers are way too big for flower garlands."

She points toward Laila."Look. She's already finished four sections."

I glance sideways.Laila beams proudly before lifting her neat row of white jasmine flowers for inspection.Across the table, Keshav hums to himself while sorting fresh rose petals one by one.

"This one's torn."He tosses one aside."This one's good." His concentration would impress any quality inspector.

Beside me, Raj taps my arm gently.

When I look at him, he signs something quickly before pointing toward the office where Diya's voice floats through the hallway.

He joins his fingers together, taps his chest, then signs “beautiful.”

She's going to love it.

I can't help smiling.A quiet laugh escapes me as I try Rani's knot again."I disagree," I tell her. "Every good knot needs a strong foundation."

She rolls her eyes dramatically."If the knot isn't stable," I continue, pretending to be completely serious, "the garland won't survive one of Diya didi's homework speeches."

Keshav bursts out laughing."So we're building something strong enough to survive her temper."

Even Rani snorts before trying to hide her smile.

The courtyard fills with easy laughter.Looking around at these children, something settles quietly inside me.

Growing up in the palace, every relationship came with expectations.

Politics. Legacy. Responsibility.

Everything had a purpose.

But here . . . None of that matters.

These children don't care about my title. They don't care about royal traditions or political influence. They simply accept me because they know how much I love the woman who gave them a home.